Title: The Black Cat Detectives
Author: Kit Gray
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Pages: 304
My GoodReads Rating: 
Mila MacAllister is a 28-yo magician in a small town, Corvin’s Crossing, hoping to make it to the big league. On the morning of her performance, at which she expects to be scouted for a resort that is looking for performers, Mila finds three black kittens, with the mother nowhere in sight, in a box in the alley outside the club where she is to perform. She rescues them and takes them to the vet and decides to adopt them.
That evening, Mila’s successful
performance comes to a sudden close when the body of her boyfriend and manager,
Brandon, comes crashing through the roof to the stage, with Mila’s pocket knife
protruding out of his chest.
The story is written in four PoVs,
the 3rd person PoV of Mila and the 1st person
PoVs of the three kittens named Bippity, Boppity and Boop. Bippity is female,
Boppity is male, and Boop is non-binary. The other two kittens use they/them
pronouns while referring to Boop.
WHAT I LIKED:
I liked the emphasis on friendships
and the family ties you build for yourself.
I am no lover of cats, yet I was
quite amused and intrigued by the antics of the kittens. The characterization
of the kittens is done with a gentle touch. Bippity sees herself as a leader,
born to lead her siblings. Boppity fancies himself as a great warrior and is
always ready for battle. Boop is always gentle, preferring naps and cuddling to
anything else. The curiosity, independence and vulnerability of the cats rang
true, even though I know very little about cats.
The voices of the three kittens
were strong and striking.
The descriptions of the foods
cooked by Ms Fi, and Q and Mrs Scarborough all popped off the page.
In terms of diversity, Asia is well
represented through Ms Fi and Becca Varma, Mila’s best friend.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
The focus should have been on the
murder mystery. Instead, the cats took up excessive space, causing a lot of
repetition, given that there are three kittens and only one Mila.
Why Becca should be a Varma, an
Indian origin surname, makes no sense. We see no evidence of her background or
culture, making the name tokenish. She might as well have been white.
In keeping with what has almost
become the trope of the genre, Mila was both smart and dumb.
I found the conclusion rather tame.
The killer wasn’t convincing enough, nor was their rationale for killing.
The Physics-based superpowers of
the kittens weren’t very clear.
Mila’s back story was minimal. It
was unclear why she left her parents’ home. They neglected her, and led their
own lives, but her trauma suggested something far worse. Also, where and how
she learnt magic was something that wasn’t explained.
WHAT DIDN’T QUITE WORK:
In one place, Bopp had male
pronouns used, possibly a typo that slipped past.
There is a whole chapter set at the
vet’s where Mila takes the three kittens. This chapter was wholly unnecessary.
ALL SAID AND DONE:
This was a cozy mystery that
ultimately ended up being more cozy and less mystery, with the kittens
overshadowing the resolution of the mystery.
(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.)
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